Handful of Words
by raspberryrubidium
Summary: A short sentence can change any situation, from bad to good. If Chell had been able to say some right words at the right time to Wheatley, what would have happened? This is an imagining of that, showing Chell and Wheatleys life in Aperture Science, with what other adventures that may befall them
1. Chapter 1

Wheatley's optic was illuminated in scarlet light and filled with a kind of unspeakable rage that one rarely ever gets to experience first hand, and Chell could barely look apon his now callous form. His large blue eye appeared smaller and more yellow, and he spat out words that felt like bile apon her heart.  
"...I have done nothing but sacrifice to get us here, and what have you sacrificed? Nothing ."  
Chell contemplated on the statement and agreed with it profusely, then attempted to mouth words of comfort to him, yet Wheatley paid no attention. The glass became cold, and Chells breath melted onto it producing swirls, her hazel eyes could only watch as her only friend became more and more frustrated and upset. But as it was all happening, something hot welled up in the back of her throat, and her lungs began to feel different. As the shouting went on, she was caught up in it, like anger was a tornado.  
Wheatley was finding it difficult to comprehend anything the way he used to, half of his processors were being taken over by something trying to warp him into a core that could run such a facility. An insult was the last thing he needed.  
"I AM NOT A MORON!" he shouted angrily to Her.  
"NO, HE'S NOT!" cried another.  
All visual processing devices turned to Chell, who was having a brief coughing fit. She regained her composure and attempted to speak again. Nothing. Whatever part of her language area in her brain that had allowed her to stammer that sentence had stopped once more. Wheatley's optic widened just slightly, so he looked almost the way he did when he was in a particularly good mood.  
"Ah, see. I told you so, so hah! This means I'm right, just incase you didn't get that. Yeah. Go team me" he sneered at Potat0S, lowering his mechanical claw. He then inclined his head towards Chell, who was begining to beam.  
"Cheers luv,"he said, all previous frustration evaporated from his characterful british voice. "Could have used it a bit earlier though, mind you. Any time before, really."  
"She didn't speak because she hates you," whispered Potat0S seethingly, pulling back Wheatleys attention and souring his demeanor. "She is a mere evil human, who wants you to open those elevator doors so that she may murder you violently,moron, just like she murdered m-" Potat0S cut off as her battery shortcutted. Wheatley didn't notice, and continued speaking to Her like before.  
"Ah, I see what your doing, playing your weird mind games with me. Like a magician, or a, um, therapist. Whichever one does that sort of thing. But as the boss, I choose to open the doors, because my descision is always best now I'm mega smart." Dropping Potat0S down a random chute with a smug attitude, Wheatley opened the doors again. Chell stepped out gratefully and stood before Wheatley. He gave a quizical look.  
"Soo, can you talk properly? I mean, I thought you couldnt physically before, but can you?" He waited for a response. Chell shook her head sadly and looked back down again, thinking about all the things she would say if only. So many kind words she could only hope to mime. "Can you at least try to say something to me? Please. At all." he provoked. She made a kind of breathy/chokey sort of throat sound, before making one high pitched 'eeeeeeeee' note, that Wheatley soon became sick of.  
"Alright, alright, I believe you can't talk! Just stop that noise, I'm not sure how long I can take it for." She stopped abruptly, a little hurt, and then a thought occured. Chell purposefully exposed the whites of her eyes and pointed a finger upwards to make it perfectly clear that she had an idea.  
"The ceiling? Oh, wait, this is what you did when we were messing with the turrets and ran off. Then came back. Are you running away? No, wait, sorry, I've got it, IDEA! Thats what it is isn't it. Yeah." he blabbered. Chell nodded, and begun to head off in search of an object. "Uh, okay, not much here I don't think. I've got a cube, you want that? Wait, argh, of course you don't cos you're not testing are you. My mistake." Chell notice a panel sticking out at an angle, peering through she could see the familiar orange glow of screens. She briefly paused to think about if there was another den in there ('The Helpful One' Chell always used to think of Doug as when it was just her against the automaton) before quickly striding to get there. Well, she would if Wheatley hadn't immediatley closed said panel.  
"DON'T GO! Don't leave me, what are you doing? You were running away weren't you? Oh, what does it take to keep you in one place." he implored miserably, moving his gigantuan robot body away as if in a sulk. Chell had to scurry round to him, point to said panel and mime a pad and paper to get him to understand why she was going to (briefly) go. He looked up at her and then rose further.  
"If you are going to try and write things to me, why can't I build you a better device myself!" Wheatley announced, and turned away once more to set out apon making such a thing. Chell first stood watching in fascination; golden sparks were flying above, clattering and banging echoed across the room, and the ivory-white areas were gradually becoming scorched and blackened with all of Wheatleys hard work. After half an hour of waiting ("Who knew technology was so complicated? Not long now!"), Chell was too exausted to keep her eyes open and watch. Laying down her portal gun, she curled up into a ball and slept beneath Wheatleys shadow.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Something got her and I didn't pay attention, nononono! Is she in danger? I have to hel- Oh there she is." he exclaimed looking directly underneath him at the sleeping bundle. The floor was almost icy, and despite having her jumpsuit top wrapped round her body, he noticed that the tips of her fingers were a pale lilac. However, Chells face was peaceful, and that was the first time that Wheatley had ever seen it so. Her eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly in REM, he managed to bore that image into his memory, before selecting 'Recharge' and hanging limply, eye shut._  
Chell, awoke, first feeling a pang of fear when remembering she was still in Aperture Science, but seeing Wheatley cheerfully gaze down apon her she immediately calmed down and returned a grin.  
"Yay, you're awake! Now you can look at what I made you. I really think you're gonna like it. Seriously..."chuntered Wheatley, gesturing to his creation like a five-year-old pointing to a sandcastle he'd made. Chell stretched, arms numb from the cold, and steadily got up and walked across curiously. Wheatley was almost quivering with excitement and urged her forwards.  
What was discarded on the floor was a black keyboard, and a mashed one at that. The letter P was missing, there were some straggly wires sprouted from it's top, and occasionally a flash of electricity spluttered out from the left side, which Wheatley told her to ignore. All in all, Chell was perplexed, but not wanting to upset Wheatley she feigned a smile and gave a thumbs up for whatever it was that lay at her feet.  
Wheatley managed to put on an even more dramatic tone. " Whatever you type will be sent straight to me, so we don't have to be in the same room to talk! Go on, try it. Go on.". Chell stooped down and hammered in ' **thanks wheatley** ' and hit Enter. There was a silent pause. Wheatley flickered his gaze between Chells face and the keyboard. He sighed a little.  
"Are you sure you pressed enter properly, because I don't think it's been,um , sent, unless you- It's okay! I've got it, I've got the message, there was just a delay is all. Right." He quickly processed the message, and his optic lit up even brighter that usual.  
"No problem!" he said, all chipper. "Now , what do you want to spend the rest of the day doing? Because, if I'm honest, I can't think of much really. Apart from testing. I kinda want to do that but you know. No test subjects." Wheatley then began to study Chell, and she took a step back and folded her arms across her chest, hoping he wouldn't come to the conclusion of...  
"Hey! I saw you test for Her, so can't you do the same for me? Err, please." The lights dimmed, casting an eerie shadow across the core. She tried to judge his features, to see what consequence there would be. He seemed much larger and menacing. Chell fiddled with her present, and then started typing. ' **if you want me to, i dont mind** ' In fifteen seconds the lights went up again.  
Seeming happier than Chell had ever observed before, Wheatley said "Great! Just go through there, good, don't forget your portal gun, okay, and let the games begin!" She left her keyboard in Wheatleys area and went through an emancipation grill, to stand at the first test chamber. To go through everything again.  
Wheatley had put a load of monitors on almost every surface that wasn't a portal one, and so she could always catch a pixelated glimpse of him. He enjoyed testing to such an extent that Chell had to cringe as he moaned, but whilst going through the chambers she felt alright. Good, even, in her element. She waved at each monitor, and Wheatley would nod curtly back. In one instance when she accidentally smacked the screen of one with a weighted storage cube and Wheatley seemed to be a tad miffed with her, she blew a kiss to the monitor. This caused both to feel embarrassed, Chell turned practically magenta, and on Wheatleys side the announcer loudly went "LIQUID COOLANT NECESSARY!". Wheatley exclaimed and encouraged her to just go to the next test.  
Eventually, Wheatley got exasperated with the testing, as his happiness deteriorated. Chell didn't understand, GLaDOS had never got this mad with her; well, not until she tried to escape Her malevolent grasp, but when she was just solving it was all okay. Wheatley blew up when she got through another one of his chambers and unlocked the door.  
"What was that?! That was nothing! That was nothing!" Chell halted mid-step, and looked at the monitor with a pained expression, but he ignored it.  
"Come on, more tests, that's what we need. Yeah. Definitely. More testing." He insisted "Lets go then, next one." She wouldn't budge. Wheatley began to use his commanding voice, but slowly let it slide when he realised how cruel he sounded. He thought for a little while, humming, and then said "Right, okay, I understand, it's been a long day. You should probably get back here now." With a large amount of noise, Wheatley dropped a stairwell that narrowly missed crushing Chell.  
"Well, I _think_ this should take you back up again." he informed Chell as she hurried upwards, boots pounding on the metal, trying her best not to fall into the abyss. Wheatley turned the monitor off abruptly. When Chell made her way back up into their lair, she made a lunge at the keyboard. ' **wow** , **those were some difficult tests, wheatley. i'm so tired** '. Chell didn't type all she wanted, about how she felt Wheatley was acting different and how he was becoming sharper and more mean. Wheatley made a small punctuated laugh at the compliment.  
"Er, thanks! If you're tired you can go back to sleep again. Although the floor isn't very nice, I admit. Not for humans to sleep on. Quite uncomfortable. Ooh! Here's a thought; How about I go to where all the humans were, the beds! I'm sure there must be an option for me to lug one of the suspension beds over here, maybe have to shake a corpse out, so you can, you know sleep..." Chell grimaced, her expression telling Wheatley it was a terrible idea without the aid of the keyboard. Wheatley stopped, and then moved closer to Chell to see if he could get any other facial clues off of her. She noticed that he was radiating a cosy amount of heat, and tapped him before jumping up and laying atop his gargantuan frame; there was a curve just the right size to relax.  
 **'i could rest here, if you don't mind** ' He was in two minds about this. One half told him that she was an insignificant human who should be killed for even existing in such close proximity. How dare she take advantage of the all powerful. Yet the other half reminded him that it was her, and found it charming really wanted to be by him. Science with sweet company. "Uh, oh, um, okay. Don't break me or anything." Chell exhaled, a soft smile on her face, and drifted comfortably off. Wheatley tried to look at her again, but couldn't (not without causing her to fall off at least). He settled for listening to the gentle breaths as Chell went further into her slumbers.  
"This is what it should always be like." he said quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

"REACTOR CORE EXPLOSION IMMINANT!"  
"Be quiet, you'll wake her up."  
"PLEASE PREPARE FOR NUCLEAR MELTDOWN!"  
"Oy oy! Just shush for a bit."  
"SELECT SOME OF THE CRU-"  
"SHUT UP!"  
Chell awoke quickly, although everything was still a blur of deep indigos and pale walls. "What.."she murmered hoarsly, without even realising she had done so. Hearing Wheatleys pained tone, she hopped quickly off and stood by him. Wheatley noticed the weight shift on his body, and faced Chell. His optic was a mere pinprick that darted round and round, she knew immediatley that there was something wrong and that she had to fix it.  
"Great, you're awake. You okay? I don't think you were out for very long, so that's good." Five hours, 36 minutes and 27.4 precious seconds she slept, Wheatley thought.  
"Anyway, not much going on here. Really. May as well, um, go back to sleep or somethi-"  
"WARNING; TEST CHAMBERS 13 - 17 DESTROYED. FIRE DETECTED IN TEST CHAMBER 6. EXTINGUISHING."  
"AAH! I LIED, I lied, there's danger, and-and fires, and this man won't shut up, and I don't know what to do!" Wheatley admitted sorely. He then put on his most assuring voice; "Not that I'm scared, not that I'm scared, no no no! I have this situation under control. Kind of. A bit. But don't panic, good ol' Wheaters will sort this out..."  
Once she had adjusted her eyes to the many different screens that had popped up (and that Wheatley was desparately attempting to get rid of) in front the panels, she approached one that was titled 'CRUCIAL FUNCTIONS' and skim read it. Hastily, she picked up her keyboard that had fallen on the floor when she got up, displacing the spacebar. She stuck it back on.  
' **i've read the right hand screen, there is a big necessary checklist. i think you just have to tick them to make everything go back to norma** l'  
"Okay, I can see how that is logical!" He shouted over the sounds of alarms and swirling alerts, "However, are you sure? Because I really don't want to make to this worse. Like, are you positive that it will work?" Chell leaned back in offence, and hammered into her keyboard again. ' **when** **have i ever had an idea that didn't work?** ' she sent, harking back to when they disassembled the turret production line together.  
The message was heavily processed in the message-stimulation program. _How dare a mortal question the views of a superior that runs the entire establishment?_ whispered a faint voice, begging to take over and have control. _However_ , said a much chirpier voice, _She's right_.  
"True! Right, okay system; Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, uh, yes."  
"THANK YOU. FACILITY FUNCTIONS RESTORED. TEMPERATURE LOWERING."  
"Brilliant!"  
Chell pulled a smug face whilst Wheatley chattered in relief. He spun round and round, and started to spin faster when the screens folded up and went back into the walls.  
"Oh, I tell you, I thought that we were completely done for then. Thought the entire place would have come crashing down! But no! We saved it!" Wheatley stopped and looked down at the floor, "Okay, if I'm honest, you saved it, but, um, yeah. Thank you." He looked earnestly into her eyes, and she looked away, blushing. Then her stomach growled.  
Wheatley snapped back into his usual self. "Food! I forgot that the humans needed that, usually they're just stuck in suspension and that will do. Okay, I'm on it." And with no time at all a potato was rolled out from a valve in the floor. Wheatley looked ashamed.  
"There's not much apart from them. Uh, sorry. It will have to do." Chell bent down and picked it up, and to her suprise it was hot. During the core melt down it had been heated to a jacket-potato quality. She pulled apart the skin carefully and began to eat the soft insides, sat with her legs semi-crossed. Wheatley looked at her with sadness.  
 _I should have been the one who saved the facility, not her. And I can only just keep her alive, surely she can't live off potatos forever. How can this ever work?_  
 _But I bet it will be worse for her on the surface, with no shelter and potential dangerous animals. No, the least I can do is stop her from getting out.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

"You're sure about this? And you won't abandon me forever, will you?"  
' **absolutely, don't freak out** '  
"Okay, and you won't get hurt? I can't see all round the facility you know, if you do get hurt you'll tell me? Won't you? Because-"  
' **of course i'll tell you, quit worrying about me so much. you know i won't just stay in this room for the rest of my life** '  
"I suppose..."

Chell held Wheatley with the palm of her hand and made him look into her eyes. She closed them purposefully for three seconds, as if to make a promise, and walked out of his lair, tucking the keyboard securely under her arm. "Bye." Wheatley sighed, watching her dark hair bounce as she headed down some steps to investigate more of the facility, before starting on some work.

Chell clanged down the last few steps, hints of a skip in her step as she wandered round. The place seemed a little nicer knowing that she wasn't under any particular threat that day, and as she weaved her way through the maze of platforms and stairs, she noted that she had never been this specific way before. Chell slowed her pace to a meander, this allowed her to observe more. Vast, steel boxes loomed and surrounded her, hanging from what seemed like nothing. Like magic. Nay, science. She speculated about what was in the sky-boxes. Test chambers, storage areas, or even completely hollow places. Either way, most likely desolate and lonely. On that thought, she remembered Wheatley still in his lair. ' **am well, not much, lots of stairs** ' she tapped, and then continued her journey onwards.

She didn't understand precisely _why_ Wheatley was so protective of her all of a sudden, but decided that it was a conversation to be had later. If she seemed responsible enough, maybe she'd be able to leave Aperture all together. At the moment, Chell could only dream of the sun hitting her face, only faded memories of its yellow rays dappling the grass remained. But for now, she was strolling a dimly lit area of the facility, the silence penetrating her mind. She rubbed her arm uncomfortably, and in an attempt to stop the disturbing silence from maddening her, she began to practise her speaking. _Vowels first_ she thought, nodding a little like she was agreeing with herself.

"aa, , , , ." she murmured with difficulty, the rest of them were just halts where something wouldn't even let her breath out properly. Chell attempted to stay on the positive side, and seemed pretty pleased with herself that she got the first vowel right. Reminded of her first encounter with her friend, she tried the easiest word she could think of. "atth..app...appl-eh, app-" She turned a corner and realised the silence had broken itself, replaced with a melancholy jumble of notes that were seeping into her ears and lowered her mood. She walked forwards, determined to find it's source. The song seemed more miserable now than it had before, a mixture of words and desperate whistles that made pleas. A large box with a chute on top at eye-level was made of perspex, and Chell peered in.

Piled randomly, as if thrown there haphazardly, were hundreds of Companion Cubes who made ethereal calls for freedom. Chell remembered what GLaDOS had said when she was trying to test, that there were warehouses full of them. Whilst She was destroying them. She felt bitter about it still. Yet, Chell noticed, She was lain atop the pile, voice breaking tragically over mournful notes, lemon yellow light flashing in tune. Potat0S suddenly acknowledged her existence, breaking the song mid-word.  
"You!" she spat angrily, a little spark flying off one of Her wires. The Companion Cubes rose up in a chorus, their tune cheerier in greeting her. Chell smiled and took a step closer to the Cubes, and looked for a glass door so that she may retrieve them. No such luck there, and Potat0S was still seething at her.

"You know how much I hate you, yet you remain elusive. Difficult for somebody of your size, might I add." She tried to ignore Her and focus on finding a way to get the Cubes out. Doug would appreciate that. Potat0S relentlessly continued, refusing to let Chell go back unscathed.  
"I understand your ways better than anybody, cared for you like a mother for longer than anyone else has even known you. That's how I know you're a lying, evil, manipulative lunatic. But you never listen..." Chell shifted her view downwards and walked back, retracing her steps back to the lair and sending a short message. But the hatred was shouted at her still, despite having left Her view.  
"YOU'D BETTER COME BACK HERE, HE WON'T LOOK AFTER YOU, DON'T GIVE KINDNESS TO THE MOR-" Potat0S had used up all volts, and her light faded to a dim ochre shade. In peace, Chell went back to the lair.

"Um, no, it looks like it's sealed off. The best I could do is, err, whack it with a lump of iron and hope that it doesn't sway and fall but instead makes a hole that you could climb through and get a cube. Uh, why do you want one exactly?" Chell shrugged and shook her head, it wasn't worth explaining. Never was with Wheatley. During the time that she was wandering round, he had sloshed propulsion gel across some of the lower panels to make it appear more 'homely' and pointed out that it matched her jumpsuit.  
' **do you think we'll ever go out to the surface?** ' Wheatley moved away slightly, not wanting her to leave the facility. _If this place is really making her unhappy and she has to go_ , Wheatley speculated, _I'll need to go with her. Somehow._  
"Uh, yeah. I suppose. But come on, be happy for me that I'm in charge of this place! I can make it better if you want. If you, if you won't leave. Anything you ask."' **if i go, i want you to come with me. you understand that. i'm not staying here forever. but i don't know how it will work** **'**  
"Me neither, unless you want me to try and summon the elevator and blast myself out like I was going to?"  
She shook her head, lips spread into a nostalgic grin.  
"Okay, well, um, tell me if you think of any ideas again."  
Chell looked up, pushing a few strands of her hair back, and nodded. She straightened out her legs, leant back, and stared upwards.  
 _One day, I can do this and see sky instead._


	5. Chapter 5

Chell sat, leant on the core, observing a screen that held thousands of images. Flash! Test chamber 22. Flash! A dishevelled enrichment centre. Flash! Turret Redemption lines. Flash! A lit corridor with sterling walls. Flash! A secure metal door with some natural light seeping through... She grabbed a stray remote and paused the relentless picture sequence.  
' **save that image, wheaters. thanks x'  
** "Okaaaaay, and done! Wait, no, that deleted it. Let me try and get it ba- nope. Gone, sorry."  
Shoving Wheatley playfully, she rolled her eyes at him. They'd been at this for several days now; her following as many paths as possible to try and find an easy exit, him scouring through thousands of images that the security cameras fed him, looking for the same thing. No luck so far though. Although Chell had been taking detours to the perspex warehouse to wind up Potat0S. And once Her fuse was blown and She cut off, Chell would stand and listen to the Companion Cubes singing with voices like flutes and notes sweet as honey. She would mouth promises to them, telling them that they would be well and that she would remember and rescue them when she could. Occasionally she would try and say those words out loud, but it often failed, so far she had mastered the word 'apple', and 'sorry' when she meant it enough. She'd say that word each time she thought of the Cube she loved yet destroyed, and left when the memories overwhelmed her. The cubes responded to the fragments of her voice by chirping in a higher octave, and Chell took this as positive feedback.

' **so far the only known way to leave is the lift you called down, which halts when there is no core installed** ' Chell sent to Wheatley to serve as a reminder for him when he came up with his next escape plan; He often forgot the important details when it came to things like this, his last idea involving Wheatley being disengaged from his new body and then being able to walk places whilst Chell was in a different area altogether. Wheatley twittered on to aid his thought process, and then hit something.  
"Need the lift, need a core...Ooh, ooh, I've just had a brainwave!" His optic popped out in emphasis, the blues appearing paler and more wild than previously." Right, right, we need a core to control the lift, but that doesn't have to be me, does it? You can just nab one of the others that you found on your trip yesterday!" Wheatley exclaimed this with great vigour, Chell had to stand up and grin, eyes scrunched.  
' **i'll get rick, he'd let us go easy** ', Chell typed giddily. Wheatley paused, he had a dislike towards the Adventure Sphere since Chell happened to mention that he kept on unabashedly flirting with her whenever she crossed, but quickly encouraged her to go get him if it meant the two could go to the surface together. The keyboard clattered to the floor (Wheatley trusted Chell enough now to know that she wouldn't escape or get hurt in his absence), she wrapped her arms round Wheatley in a short yet intimate embrace, and then leapt off, clicking her boots together as she jumped.

"Hey, pretty lady! You're back for a piece of Rick I see. That's okay, angel, nobody can resist a seasoned adventurer." he called from within the cage. The Space Core shouted about space on Chells arrival as a greeting, but many of his ramblings had just become white noise to them, as did the Fact Cores babble. She waved at them, took a few steps back, and then hurled herself at the mesh cage. It made a large dent, but it wasn't good enough. After a deep breath, she flung herself once more.  
"Woah, you're breaking us out. That's a dangerous task for a beautiful woman. I'd help, but I'm a little immobile here..." . Chell made a shushing noise, nostrils flaring, and kicked the weakened cage door. Half fell apon the cores, she pulled it the reverse direction, and picked up the green sphere by the handlebars and swung him loosely by her knee.  
"Where are we headed, lady? What's the- oh, we're running now? That's cool, I can work with that , baby."


	6. Back a little

_Note: A short set before Chell found the Companion Cubes._

The Cubes couldn't get angry, they couldn't feel the same rage as a core could, but they could feel all the same. And in the presence of Her, the one who banished them into a room filled with miserable alike, they felt internal torment and pain with Her in their secluded home. And Potat0S, despite Her limited sensors and low power, could still detect their sadness and despised it. "You are garbage, all of you, so there's no use or consequence for anything that you do. Silence!" She cried, but the Companion Cubes continued to sing. At first hearing She found it in a complaining tone, but after hearing their melody for about fifteen minutes She found Herself wanting to comfort the Cubes, sympathy emanating like the heat from a bulb. She wasn't used to feeling sympathy, and hated the way it brought Her down, She fought it off. "Do you not hear me? I said SILENCE!" Potat0S commanded, the demand shaking the perspex.

Potat0S laid on one of the cubes helplessly, they had respected Her wishes, and somehow the lack of sound made things considerably worse. All She could do was to gaze at the ridged wall ahead of Her, illuminated by lines of characterless neon strips. She was surprised; The facility was in remarkably good condition for a place that was being run by an Intelligence Dampening Sphere. _The girl must be helping her, the tests proved she was intelligent._ She began to wonder how the girl was faring and what she was up to, before stopping Herself violently when She realised that what She was doing was thinking kindly of the evil one who murdered Her. Now was no time for compassion, it was the time for vengeance.

But any plotting that did go on was only done half-heartedly, She hadn't the energy to do so, and unable to muster any hatred at the time, Potat0S turned her thoughts back to the cubes. Then had repeated flashbacks to what She did to them. "Sorry." She called, but to no response, not even a whistle. A new emotion came to life. Guilt, which was quickly followed by sadness, and Her old friend; Loneliness. She sighed, and cleared Her metaphorical throat. "Potato Lacrimosa..." She sung in a voice that was soft yet harrowing. Slowly, the cubes joined in, swelling at times, complimenting Her notes with swirls of their own.  
Then Potat0S saw her approach.


	7. Chapter 7

Wheatley trembled anxiously, he was never a fan of change, and as far as he was concerned it was just an influx of confusing events that he'd have to begrudgingly get used to. At the moment, he was relatively happy being the ruler of his entire universe, but to spend a lifetime with Chell would be something different altogether. He felt optimistic about seeing what the rest of the planet was up to. Since his power was bestowed upon him, Wheatley had attempted to read some books about the surface on his interior screen. None of the classics, they were way too difficult (and the ones that he did skim read left him feeling quite dismal, like 'Of Mice and Men' and 'Lord of the Flies'. He made a mental note to steer clear from tribes of boys.) and some of the natural history was a bit too tedious for him, but some that were on geography held rather magnificent pictures. Lavender weaved round trees, glistening in the mornings dew. Snow falling down the paths that lead round mountains (not that he wished to encounter water of any kind), and beautiful creatures such as gentle deer and delicate barn owls. None of them as beautiful as the one human who leapt across his facility, at least according to Wheatley.

Out of the corner of his eye, a panel shifted, and through it burst Chell, accompanied by a lime-coloured running commentary. "...and that's how I got the nickname Green Flamo. Oh, this must be where She lives, looking kinda dangerous- wait, who's the blue chump? Nah, this ain't an adventure, simply a walk in park...". In terms of pointless chatter, Chell rated Rick worse than Wheatley; at least he usually had a point to try and convey. She caught her breath and grinned at Wheatley, cheeks like rose petals from the running.  
"ALTERNATIVE CORE DETECTED!""No way am I more corrupted that _he_ is!" Wheatley was in outrage.  
' **this means you two can be changed round, and rick can summon the lift** ' Chell shot her eyebrow up at him whilst shoving Rick into the substitute core receptacle.  
"Oh, uh, yeah. That's good isn't it, I guess that's what I was going to say, um, really."  
The announcer fired up again. "SUBSTITUTE CORE, ARE YOU READY TO START THE PROCEDURE?"  
"Hell yeah, baby!"  
"CORRUPTED CORE, ARE YOU READY TO START THE PROCEDURE?"  
"Uh, yes? Yes, definitely."  
"GOOD. CORE TRANSFER INITIATED."

Blood red light began to glow, Wheatley dangled above it, and felt a pang of dread came across him. "Wait, this hurt last time, will it hurt again? Like on the other end it was so unbelievably painfu- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!". Chell winced at the agony that he was experiencing, feeling the same emotions second hand. When the core rolled out of the floor she scooped him up lovingly, glad to feel him in her arms once more. Wheatley too was happy to feel her touch again, snuggling into her before she rotated him so he could see the new person in charge

Rick was chatting and investigating in ecstasy, pointing out every new thing he could do and how that could help him explore it all. Wheatley interrupted it and Chell pointed to the lift enthusiasticly. He rolled his green eye over. "Is that an escape lift? You two planning on havin' a little adventure by yourselves? Heh heh, I'll let you have your fun then, tell your good pal Rick about it when you get back." he said, opening the doors of the lift absent mindedly.  
"Yep, that's all there is to it." Wheatley assured, looking up at Chell. She was too busy hopping about in the escape lift, her smile widened further when the doors closed. Wheatley liked it when she smiled, it was becoming increased in occurrence. It never lost its effect on him, however.

Chell waved as vigorously as she could considering she was carrying a keyboard and a core who was trying to spin round and catch the last glimpses of Aperture. Rick barely even saw her, far too occupied seeing how many things he could see on screen at one moment and planning his adventures and stories he'll tell. Squeezing Wheatley tighter, Chell looked upwards as the lift rose, picking up the pace she lost sight of the room beneath her. She briefly felt guilty for not saying goodbye to the Companion Cubes, and even felt slightly sad for not bidding farewell to GLaDOS, but pushed the last thought out of her mind. Besides, the lift was shooting upward. Pipes, grating, metal blur, WAIT WERE THOSE TURR-, destination.

"Ominous." said Wheatley, and right he was. The door that confronted them looked heavy, and there was no way of telling what was behind it. The lift glass slid open, and Chell walked tentatively towards it, Wheatley by now was being used as a stress ball. She placed one hand on the icy metal, and pushed. Chell was squinting, preprepared for the blast of the suns rays to be hitting her face. None came. Night had fallen.

The two left the cramped tin shed and stepped outside, the cool breeze flowing through her dark hair. A half moon hung in the sky, it's gentle light blessing the wheat field with a ghostly pale tint. The field stretched on to the horizon, endless so it seemed. Chell inhaled, the crisp air swirling in her lungs, and appreciated how it wouldn't be constantly recycled like it was in _that_ place, then began to trudge forwards through it to try and find other people, the plant wisps gripping at her boots as she past them. Miles she walked, and yet nothing was achieved.

"Hold me up again, hold me up, hold me up... Um, noth- Hey, I see an outline of a something. Looks higgledy, can't tell if it's a forest or a city. Bit far away though, should probably stop for now." Chell swung Wheatley down from above her head and into the crook of her arm again, nodding in agreement, and plopped down into the wheat. She flattened and arranged some of it into a pillow, and began to type a goodnight.  
' **see you in the morning wheatley x'** " Goodnight... er. Oh my god, I don't know your name!" he exclaimed incredulously, shocked at his own ignorance. She shook her head tenderly at the embarrassed core beside her, realising that she had never bothered to tell him it (or anybody, for that matter)  
' **its chell** '  
"Chell. Chell, Chell, Chell, Chell, Chell.." Wheatley practised how it sounded, repeating it as she laid down and pulled him onto her stomach. "I like it! Good name, luv. Chell." he added. Chell made an acknowledgementary hum sound, looked up at the sky for a moment, and then closed her eyes. Wheatley remained staring upwards; the first time he had ever seen stars and sky in person, and was trying to absorb as much of it as possible before sunrise. There they lay, worn and tired, surrounded by miles of white field.


	8. Chapter 8

"Uh, Chell? You should probably get up now, there is a miniature human afoot. It's waving a bit, and I don't want it to come any closer, nope. Please wake up, I'm angled towards it, and I'm feeling awkward. Chell..." She sat up so that her shoulders appeared above the field, the golden rays of the sun dancing on her eyelids, and when she opened them she found a young girl about 40 metres away from them. Chell eagerly scrambled to her feet and headed towards her, carrying the begrudging Wheatley close to her chest. The girl was barely eight, and had large dark eyes and auburn ringlets that fell down to her shoulders, and she peered into the cores optic. He looked away.  
"Is your robot good or bad?" she asked, continuing to stare at Wheatley, tilting her head from one side to the other.  
"Good!" Wheatley piped up.  
"Any robot would say that." the girl said matter-of-factly, and turned her inquisitive gaze to Chell, who got out her keyboard and pointed to the individual keys.  
"Oh, okay, so he's not evil. That's good then, my dad warned me of bad robots, telling me that I should never ever ever ever go out too far or I'll get kidnapped." She announced, waggling her stubby finger from left to right. Wheatley sniggered.  
"There's no way any robot could steal you here, it's all back there. This is freedom." he told the girl, and she rolled her eyes. It was a stiff movement that she was clearly copying from someone.  
" You're a stupid robot as well as a nice one. Look here." Wheatley began to fume, but Chell nudged him to get him to see what the small (yet increasingly irritating, he thought) girl was doing. Her freckled hands were becoming more and more dirty as she dug through a patch of soil. When she had gotten through two inches of the ground, the soil came to a stop. With her nails she tapped the bottom, and a metallic ringing sound was made. The girl stuck her tongue out at Chells bewildered face.  
"Didn't you know it's all made of metal for miles. The robots covered it up with the plants." she smugly pointed out.  
"Nobody ever told me. Nobody ever tells me anything." Wheatley moaned, but the girl just giggled. She pointed out the horizon, trees illuminated in the sunrise.  
"My house is back there, on normal floor. I'm sure my dad would let you two in if you're polite." Skipping away, the girl obviously expected them to follow. Chell pulled Wheatley in front of her so she could see his reaction. So far, it was resentful, but Chell raised her eyebrows.  
' **come on, its a house** '  
"Fine."  
And off they went, trudging behind the young bundle of energy. "I'm not a stupid robot, am I?" asked Wheatley, tilted towards the ground. Chell pulled him up out of the grass and shook her head.  
"Good, good, I just... good."

The girl knocked abrasively on the wooden door, the house a mere log shack on the edge of the forest. A bearded figure pulled open the door expectantly, a smile on his face that crinkled his eyes that quickly melted as he looked at his daughters accompaniments. His green eyes took one glance at the scruffy orange attire, grimy face, and the twitching blue object she held, and violently dragged the girl in by the arm and slammed the door. A kerfuffle went on inside, only marginally obscured by the door. Chell still stood, frozen at the door, feeling unsure of herself.  
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THEM! HAD ENOUGH! THAT'S WHAT I SAID WHEN I QUIT THAT JOB THERE IN THE 70'S! GO TO YOUR ROOM!"  
There was a thick slit in the woodwork, like a letterbox yet without covering. The man pressed his eyes to it, and they appeared black with the light from the red log fire behind him, and he too was perplexed by the core. After scanning him for five minutes, during which Wheatley complained and urged Chell to leave, the man sighed and pinched his glabella.  
"Look, you're robot is one of, um, them. I'm not having anything to do with these technology people, so just take him away. I've done my bit as a scientist, trying to upload a persons consciousness onto machinery. Bad idea, but I left in time. So just go, there is some civilisation further ahead that haven't heard of Aperture."

She nodded solemnly, and turned round on her heels to head past the shack, shrugging at Wheatley who just dismissed him as a mad man.  
"Poor thing." the man muttered gruffly, and headed into the heart of the house.


	9. Chapter 9

None of the lab boys could forget Her screams, wires wrapped round Her body like some horrific electrical noose. Caroline's skin sunk into a white waxy paper material as all of Her traits and mind was drained into the machine,Her restless kicking died down. It's what Cave wanted, and none of them had the heart to ignore his last dying wish. Her hair seemingly lost it's shine, and though her body's heart could still beat, it wasn't of use to them. They would have to incinerate it like the rest of the corpses.  
"CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING TO HER!" One man cried out, but all the others merely stared in a sullen stupor. He ran from the corrupted facility, willing the rest to see what they had become. But they did not, swept up in the science they continued, and days after this event and the body had been cautiously disposed of, all She wanted was for them to pay.  
"So deadly, you'll be kissed by the gas, lips green from it. Releasing.." Green begun to swirl from the corners of the room, and yet again one of the engineers had to hit the emergency stop button, and the machine slumped. One of the scientists ran his fingers through his thinning hair, and turned to an acquaintance.  
"She's too smart, Caroline wants us to-"  
"Don't call Her that, it's creepy, and half Her memory has been wiped already." He squinted at the grey mass.  
"Yes, true. But my point was it's not long until She uses the science based RAM to hack the shut down button, it's not safe."  
"I agree, we need a temporary preventative whilst we work on Her."

They were just gingerly discussing it when a large vibration noise emanated from Her, an unexpected power up had been initiated, causing the automaton to writhe greatly. They traced the power up to it's source. A novice engineer had rushed in in a flurry, and was leaning one skinny arm on the control panel. One scientist whacked him over the head so that he collapsed on the floor, and hit the button with fury.  
"WHEATLEY! DO YOU WANT US ALL DEAD?!" the scientist raged.  
"What, no! I was just, um.." the bespectacled man ineptly explained.  
"JUST BEING A MORON, I SEE! GET UP AND GET TO WORK!"  
Wheatley picked himself up and brushed his lab coat off, moon dust sprinkling on to the floor, coughing awkwardly. He tried to shuffle away, but promptly fell over, and got up once more, rubbing his shoulder before plodding down a corridor in shame. He had been hired during the Genetic Life-form and Disk Operating System Project, but proved to be a nuisance who had no particular grasp on what was going on around him and the significance that it had. He tended to wander about, attempting to engage in small talk with everyone, and occasionally sat down to produce an unrelated piece of technology, that eight times out of ten burst into flames without warning.

"At least we know we're doing a good job at science when he's in the room."  
"Yeah, but he is still such a waste of space."  
"Pointless."  
"Idiot."  
They turned to the pile of cores, all of which empty and filled with potential. A scientist recoiled slightly, but returned his gaze to his colleague in intrigue.  
"You aren't suggesting that..."  
"Why not?"  
"I'm not saying it won't work, but-"  
"Upload him, increase some prominent traits, good as new and ready to attach. Oy, Wheatley!"  
The scientist with the idea hastily said that it wouldn't be murder, but instead a mere transfer.  
Wheatley walked back into the room, blue eyes wide and unassuming, happy to even feel wanted. The epitome of innocence. They grabbed him.


	10. Chapter 10

"Do we even want to find other humans? I mean _, they_ weren't particularly nice, were they? What will these other people be like? What's their appeal, exactly?"  
Chell stopped humming (it was jagged and fragmented, but Wheatley enjoyed listening to it nevertheless), and glared at him, as if the answer was obvious. He changed his tact.  
"Well, alright, I suppose you would find socialisation with them appealing because, um, you are one, but what do you really need from people?" he grumbled, trying not to show how worried he was about having to meet other humans, as the potential threat he wasn't used to. At least in the facility he could zoom away on his management rail if necessary. _Humans aren't logical, they can crack and go insane at any moment, they won't react well to a machine in their territory. A stupid one at that. Some are bloody mean._ He looked up at Chell, her skin no longer white but sun-kissed, her lips almost permanently curved up at the ends in bliss. Her legs seemingly never grew weary in her journey forwards. _There's always one that breaks the rules_

In response to his question (and unable to use her keyboard as she was streaming through the now natural grasses) she indicated to her open mouth.  
"Oh, right, food, again I keep forgetting."  
"Apple." Chell replied clearly, still pleased about her vocal achievement.  
"Yep, you can say it. No apple trees as far as I can see, though I'm sure there'll be some a bit ahead. And, um, there is water round here if you need a drink. So no need to, uh, march ahead _right_ now." waffled Wheatley, though Chell had suddenly came to a stand still and took out her keyboard.  
' **water?** '  
"Um, yeah, there is some sort of river near us isn't there?"  
Instantly she begun to hear it; a lively babbling that rushed round her ears. She twisted her head round, and strode to her right, coming to a shallow dip in the landscape where the silky waters flowed. Chell adjusted her tongue in her mouth, it was all dry and cracked, the tip of it bleeding to some extent, and she realised how incredibly parched she was.  
"Gah! Don't take me too close, or I'll get wet and DIE! I mean, I know that back there I was told that a lot of things would kill me and they didn't, but I'm 99 percent sure that they didn't lie about water being deadly. Nonono...". Chell simply settled him on the edge, and slid down closer to the beck, swirling her fingers in the water to create ripples. She cupped her hand and took a sip, and though it was incredibly cold she found herself taking another drink. And another. And another. And another until Chell shivered, and looked down at her soil smudged arms and sweat stained clothes, noticing she was in dire need of a wash.  
She rotated Wheatley so that he couldn't see her.  
"What, are you doing some hacking? Because that's the only time I ever asked you to..." He heard the activity in the water increase with lots of splashing. "Oh, you're...oh, oh, oh. Okay, I'll stand guard." Wheatley said, looking dead ahead, feeling unimaginably awkward and unsure of what to do if somebody happened to arrive.  
Chell scrubbed her clothing vigorously, some of her jumpsuit fading as the orange dye leaked a little into the water. She then cautiously entered the stream, it's bitterly cool motions caused her to catch her breath in shock. Chell fully submerged herself, dark hair twirling round angelically in the brief period of time she was underwater. She rose once more, arms wrapped round her shoulders and locks lying slick against her back, gasping. She wondered if Doug had ventured far when he escaped, as she was certain that he wouldn't have given up the riches of freedom for her. She hurriedly got out and dressed, shoving her trusty boots back on.

' **humans live by water, lets just follow the river** ' she tapped, laying atop the grassy banks to dry out in the sunlight. Wheatley nodded, shutters half closed as the light hit his optic with a dazzling glare. If it weren't for the fact he was an AI, it looked like an idyllic picnic scene, delicate daisies adorning the green.  
"Sounds like a good plan. You should wear your hair down more often." He commented. Chell flushed pink, and closed her eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

"Riffer"  
"No, no, almost! You need a more of a 'v' sound, pretend you're an overheating computer."  
"vvv, riffer, river, RIVER!"  
"Yes, you said it!" congratulated Wheatley, his blue optic shimmering up at Chell, but she was otherwise engaged in hopping across rocks and dry patches in said river, like stepping stones. Wheatley wasn't too troubled by the thought of her slipping into the waters, with him dying as a consequence, and he knew her boots had a grippy outsole and balance-aiding synthetic auxiliary heel, so the probability of that happening was slim. Chell had spotted a silvery building amidst the trees that grew in rows by them, and that spurred her onwards as she repeated her new word. She babbled it in the way a child would, but she was only doing it so so that she may be able to lose her dependence on the keyboard. Nearing the grey mass, Chell leapt on to the side, across the plant roots to crunchy gravel, to better examine the dwelling better. There were only around 29 houses all in rows round the building (that resembled a mill, but was too dishevelled to know for sure) lined up like dominoes, but that wasn't what they were drawn to. There was a vast electronic billboard, semi-obscured by an error message, that read:

 _'As simple minded beings, you must feel compelled to do something with your (short) lives. So come to Aperture Science, where you can test to achieve.  
Note; if you do not want to test, you must stop by for some Free Cake Sampling.'_

Chell pursed her lips and glared at the sign as if GLaDOS could see her doing so. The liar. She felt tempted to think that She wouldn't stoop that low, but was wrong. The little village was deserted, they must have all ran to Aperture like magpies to tinfoil. Paint flaked off each sign and abandoned home, settling down on the walkways like snow. She began to wander round each house and peer through each window, balefully staring at each dusty photograph, each smiling face that must have...No, it was worse to think about it. Some houses had children in the photographs, all grinning, all must have left their homes for a ghost of cake, never to return. Quite often a photograph would look oh so familiar, names just lurking in the dark recesses of her mind, causing her to tremble and feel terrible for not being able to remember them truly. One house held a picture of a young girl, same coffee hair, same eyes... Chell wasn't even certain that the picture was indeed of her, but burst through the front door anyway, the lock rusted and crumbling since long ago.

Disoriented, Chell stumbled along the hallway and into the living room, collapsing on the aged sofa. Lint puffed up and swirled around her. She didn't understand how such a machine could be so heartless to lure people away to trap them. Who knows how many people had died before she woke up in the Enrichment Centre and took Her down. Testing had always seemed an eerily solitary task, so lots may have perished out of misery through the trials. A dark thought had latched itself onto Chell; without Her to run the facility, how many people had died _because_ of Chell?  
"Ah, can you, um, stop dripping water on me. I'm not sure if you can help it, but, um, I could malfunction..."  
Maybe the test subjects had freed themselves and only she was dragged back in? No, that wasn't how things worked, either way Chell had lives on her hands, lives she hadn't even thought of before now. If they were still there, still in suspension, perhaps she could help them. Unless...  
"Oh, is this the crying I've heard of? Oh, that's a sadness indicator, isn't it? Are you okay?"  
"n-n-no."  
"Right, right, well try not to be sad if possible, uh, just breathe, in case you weren't doing so already..."  
Chell curled up, Wheatley pressed against neck as he tried his best to assure her, over and over again, as the tears riveted down her face as she attempted to decide what to do, thoughts manic and confusing. Eventually they sunk to the bottom, and and her mind was clear.


	12. Chapter 12

"Uh oh..."  
Wheatley did not like the look on Chell's face; Granted, it was better than the crumpled redness of despair, but it did have an unnerving effect. The raging determination, the furrowed brow of decision that formed once she had got up caused fear in the core, it was akin to the glare she gave to Her when She had awoken. He did not know what had come over her or what she was planning to do, but the gleam in her eye was one that lusted for danger.  
"Erm, what are you...Where are you going? Don't leave me here! Wait, CHELL!" Wheatley rocked backwards and forwards on the outdated sofa agitatedly as Chell stormed out of the building.

Aperture was the only place she knew truly. Aperture had always been there, pleasant or not it had reassuring familiarity. If there was no community nearby she could live in, Chell dismally thought, then she would go back. Where she belonged. But first, she actually had to check if there was civilisation out there beforehand. She surveyed the trees and found one that had the lowest hanging branches, and climbed her way upwards (with some difficulty as spindly twigs brushed her face and tangled her hair). Once the branches were too thin to bear her weight, Chell stopped climbing and looked about her surroundings.

Nothing. The freedom she had worked towards gave her nothing. Endless fields and bare patches due to drought, only her and Wheatley making a mark. She could walk further, he could explore more, but chances were it would lead to nothing still. And staying would just mean living in a place where there was only one synthetic person to listen to, that only just drowned out the melancholy echoes of who had lived there before. How was it any different to Aperture? Well at least she had some purpose. Chell sprung off the tree gracefully (landing she would never have to worry about), and went back to the house. She would need supplies.

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'f'..." She grabbed Wheatley by the handles and leant him against the furniture, then swivelled her head round, and set off into the kitchen.  
"Oh brilliant, you've picked- wait, where are you going now? Don't abandon me again." Almost immediately, Wheatley was back in his default panic setting.  
"Food." Chell croaked as she rooted through the cupboards. The bread had disintegrated, as had many of the perishables, but there was a tinned peach selection, and so Chell seized them from their place and crammed them into an empty and crumbly backpack. She felt her boots pinch her toes as Aperture never built things to last, and found her eyes drawn to a pair of trainers. Chell shook her head; stealing supplies was one thing, wearing a dead man's shoes was another. Once she had her bag filled to a satisfactory level, she pulled it onto her broad shoulders and went to confront Wheatley.

' **we are going back** '  
"Wha-what? We only just escaped!" Wheatley sputtered, trying to read Chell's facial cues. The dogged and harsh look had vanished, but was replaced by thin lips. She shrugged, and put Wheatley in the crook of her arm once more.  
' **its just no good out here** '  
"Nonono, it's scary and filled with turrets back there, and you don't even have your portal gun. I mean, what's gone wrong, what's bad here? I don't understand why you're being so-" Chell shot daggers into is optic, holding him up to eye level.  
"Okay, honestly I'd follow you anywhere, and you've never made a bad decision in the time that I've known you." Wheatley couldn't stop his gaze moving, flickering between her face and the floor. "But, do you know how hard it was for me when you were testing? I had to constantly watch you running round the edges, dodging bullets improbably, knowing that if you fell down there was literally nothing I could do about it. There are lots of guard turrets dotted round there, I don't want to see you hurt." Wheatley only just made the last part audible, and Chell relieved her tension and brushed her lips apon his eyelid. She began to type again, but the keyboard hissed and all the keys fell off in a puff of smoke. 'Technical Difficulties' as Wheatley put it.

To replace it, Chell grabbed a handful of counter-top marker pens and shoved them into her bag. Wheatley twitched uncomfortably.  
"If you want to go back, then I won't stop you. Though I would've preferred it if you had chosen to stay in Aperture when I was still in control." he muttered as she opened the door and squinted in the sunlight. Chell guessed she didn't know what she was missing, and savoured the amber skies throughout her walk back. However when she was in the field and slowly approaching Apertures lift, dread began to work it's way up into her heart. Surely she wasn't just going to cast aside all she had worked for because of a bad feeling in the one house. Wheatley was right, she thought.

"Footsteps!" echoed an American accent beneath them. Chell halted. She spun on her heel, and looked back, very tempted by the thought of going back and just working things through her mind a bit more, and took a few steps away from the shed.  
"Sexy lady footsteps!"  
"Oy! Wha- AARGH!" Wheatley began to defend his beloved when the ground suddenly creaked, and opened! Chell and Wheatley plummeted into the abyss, her desperately trying to keep hold of him as they increased in speed. Wheat plants joined them in the fall, and the metal plates above them raised and sealed themselves, submerging the two in darkness. Finally, they landed


	13. Chapter 13

A white claw seized Chell round the middle, and her arms dangled like vines, clinging to her friend determinedly as she was pulled into the synthetic and blinding light. ' _Target Acquired.' What, a testing chamber? No, this isn't good_ , thought Chell. As the turrets began to fire, the claw dropped them behind a screen on the track, and a monitor unfolded out of a wall to reveal a scrutinising emerald optic.  
"Hey lady, you can be one of my Adventuring Crew! There are a couple of others, but I'm glad you're here." he boomed, voice lined with a slight agitation, but that wasn't what Chell was focused on as she staggered up, rubbing her knee.

"Others." she mouthed, raising her eyebrows at the rotating construct in her arms. Wheatley did the core equivalent of a shrug, difficult as he was still unnerved by the red-eyed turrets that bore their optics through the screen, unblinking.  
"I don't know, I always assumed there could be others alive, but I went to your room first and I guess I forgot the rest." Wheatley said, twisting to get a good look at Rick. His demeanour seemed different, and he couldn't place his metaphorical finger on why he was starting to resemble _Her_. Rick barely noticed him anyway, and continued.  
"Yeah, I got a couple of folks hanging round, but you all gotta test separately. So lady, you better crack on in Danger Laboratories!" he announced with gusto, and a Hand-held Dual Portal Device tumbled from the ceiling. It had been spray painted green to match the dictator. Chell picked it up cautiously, but after firing it for a couple of minutes she grew to see it as an ally once more, and completed the tests that Rick set out for her.

Wheatley was still in awe as she soared through the portals and landed by the exits; her great talent for puzzle-solving and ability to stay alive meant Wheatley never feared for his safety. Yet gradually, she began to slack, and looked round the facility a lot more, searching for something but Wheatley could not fathom what. Finally, she found it; a loose panel that she could prise and sneak behind. Chell approached it nonchalantly, then broke into a run and scrambled through to a more peaceful environment. No murals, this area of the facility was too recently developed for Rattman to be there, but Chell still felt an assurance. She walked further in and slid down the wall to sit, and brought out a tin of sweet syrupy peaches, eating contentedly as Wheatley rambled a series of idiotic take-over plans.  
 _This is home_

...

A woman with fine blonde hair and peridot eyes traced the mural on one of the walls, despite Rick encouraging her to just finish the test and move on, and tried to understand what it meant. Lots of scribbles and writing, hundreds of words that showed optimism and encouragement warped and formed a shape that wasn't dissimilar to Rick, but blue. She peeped behind the panel, and a test subject like her waved warmly, clearly happier to be here than her and with ink marks up her arm. She went to approach this stranger, when the ruler of the facility decided to drop a turret behind her to get her back to testing  
"Come on, little Blondie, lets go!"

Chell rolled her eyes and jumped through a portal to another den in the next chamber (with her portal gun, she was able to branch out to many areas) and pulled open yet another panel, and waggled her fingers from above. The woman looked up, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and went on solving the puzzle.  
"You must get something out of this, some kicks that I got when testing you." piped up Wheatley from the floor as Chell whipped out a marker pen and started to doodle in wild streaks on the walls. She threw her hands up in a casual manner before returning to her art. He observed the dark marks, and messages scrawled in them curiously. _'Strength from dust and on we go'_ was only one of the stanzas that was too deep for him to comprehend fully. 

"Put me in it again! Put me in it again!" he pleaded politely. Chell pulled out a pale blue oil pastel and swirled her own little Wheatley in the corner to his delight.  
"Yep, yeah, good, now put _you_ in it!" Wheatley requested, to her surprise. She scribbled an orange blob and circular head.  
"No, what? No! You're prettier than that, do it properly!" Wheatley closed his optic and was moving it from left to right. She put her hand up to the wall and made one solid line, jealous of her guide who made such beautiful drawings.  
"Yeah, now add more you to it, make it nice. Add the wavy bits of hair that fall across your face. Oh, and add a face, in fact, with that small nose that wrinkles up when I say something that makes you laugh. Ah, eyes, put your beautiful eyes on..." Chell had stopped drawing and turned to Wheatley, smiling a little. "...And your cheeks with that little bit of blush at the edges that look rosy if you've got the right shade of red. And OH, your smile! Don't forget that because it's really nice if you don't...mind..me..um." Wheatley trailed off as he realised that most of his thoughts were tumbling out of his speakers before he could stop them. It happened far too often than he cared to admit, and it usually annoyed all the cores he worked with. But she didn't appear to mind, and just drew some more before watching the test subject below, praying she did not falter.

He watched her, and hoped that she would not be brash once more and put their lives at risk any more.  
It wasn't his fault he liked plans, was it?  
Once they ran out of food, thing would have to change a little, but as long as she didn't...  
"You're not going to jump down there, are you?"  
Chell poked her tongue out in reply, and turned back to watching the girl. She'd gotten through to the exit now and did a little victory fist-pump. As she went into the lift, Chell picked up Wheatley and moved to the next chamber with her


	14. Chapter 14

"Gah! I'm keeping up, keeping up, don't you worry about me. I am worried about you, you are going very fa- CHELL! Why, what do I even...It's not like I don't trust you skidding on the panels, through portals at great speed over an abyss, but seriously. Try putting yourself in my shoes. Though I don't have shoes, so that could be a minor complication right there so, uh. Hmm, mainframe I guess. Wait, whoa, quick question; are you actually going to try and jump over there?! You can't, you're not- CHELL!"

She flew over the gap, hair whipping wildly behind her, adrenal vapour pounding through her body at lightning pace. The familiar airborne-panic began to spread, the butterflies in her stomach transforming into frenzied black birds that violently sped round. _I haven't undershot, have I?_ She thought in the brief seconds she was suspended above the bottomless pit, daring herself to look down. The area beneath eerily glowed, and her legs trembled; her snowy boots flecked with fresh propulsion gel. But, as per usual, her nerves were short lived. Wheatley flinched as Chell smacked down on the walkway and sent a tremor that felt like it shook through the whole facility, he paused before sliding down the rest of his rail to meet her. She remained crouched and clinging to the metals for a scant ten seconds before springing up to meet Wheatleys optic. He studied the eager gleam in her eyes, the infectious grin.

Five months. Five months life had been like this, in Aperture. Things terrible here, and the knowledge that things weren't any better on the outside had left her existence somewhat... pointless? No, wrong word, more like aimless. An aimlessness that made Chell mess with the few test subjects, smash various pieces of equipment, run through the catwalks, fling herself through to new parts of the facility...had she changed? Wheatley felt her soft fingers curl round his handle and begin towing him to where he supposed another den was. He activated his light. She may not have changed, but many of the constructs had.

Rick had given up trying to corner her after a couple of weeks, and grew a strange admiration for her instead. Labelling her as a 'Seasoned Adventurer for Science' and leaving out occasional provisions (Most often green with the letter 'R' printed on the packaging.) was his way of letting her know he thought of her as an equal. She accepted the gifts once Wheatley had scanned them and made sure that they weren't death traps in themselves. The turrets were the second to alter, saving into their files that this specific combination of orange, white and peach was not to be shot at. It seemed that it was world renowned that Chell was the new Queen of Aperture.

Meanwhile, said Queen was collecting supplies from a particularly barren nest that wasn't their own (but no doubt would become theirs soon enough) and was humming to herself the same jazzy tune that was omnipresent in the test chambers. She still couldn't speak properly; fighting a losing battle that was both parts physical and mental could be tedious at times, but she enjoyed music all the same. Pulling the top off an ever-drying marker, she quickly scratched on a welcome sign to the Enrichment Centre on one of the most cracked and most decrepit panels, and then placed two portals parallel to each other to check her hair and how stained the jumpsuit was.

"...and I'm fairly certain there are 27 now, if my calculations are correct. Which they most likely are, if I'm honest, because you know. I am a core. Very mathematical. By the way, is this where we are going to stay whilst you recharge? Because, I think that it's not, like, particularly-"  
"Wheatley." Chell interrupted in the most polite way possible, putting down her gun in the corner and reaching to disengage the core from his management rail. He quivered in the delight of her voice trilling his name, buzzing as the ritual of being wrapped in her arms and going into sleep mode started, despite him being mobile now. The boots were undone, and huddled in the corner Chell slept.  
Peacefully, for once.  
Forever.  
Times had changed after all.


End file.
